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Fitchburg High grad climbs coaching ranks

By Matt Stewart, Correspondent

Updated:
08/30/2016 05:31:50 PM EDT

Logan Johnson (COURTESY PHOTO / GIL TALBOT)

CAMBRIDGE -- Harvard University defensive line coach Logan Johnson had to work to get the opportunity to be a full-time assistant coach, but the Fitchburg High and Fitchburg State University alum is now in a program with a rich history.

Johnson is starting his second full season with the Crimson, and although he is appreciative of every coaching staff he has been a part of, coaching at the most highly touted academic institution in the country for a program with a rivalry as fierce as the one he encountered in high school, will likely be one of the most meaningful stops his future coaching career holds.

From the late 1800s to the 1940s, the Ivy League and Harvard were the Mecca of college football, holding the same status that the Southeastern Conference holds today. One thing has remained constant throughout the years: the bitter rivalry with Yale University.

Although Harvard is a Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) team, the Crimson do not compete in the playoff system. Every year the final game of the season -- and of the seniors' career -- is against rival Yale.

"The history and tradition is what meant the most to me taking the position," said Johnson, a 2006 Fitchburg High grad. "I grew up watching and playing in the Fitchburg and Leominster rivalry, and there's always something extra on the line when it's your rival. The rivaly is the same with Yale with the same history and healthy hatred.

"To get back into something like that, after a few years after graduating, was awesome.

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The fact that it's red against blue (like Fitchburg and Leominster), might be corny to some, but I find it cool. It's not about you or your teammates, but the 10,000 men of Harvard, and those that came through the program before you."

Johnson went on to play for Fitchburg State from 2007-10 before hopping on as a Falcons coach.

At Harvard, Johnson has learned from head coach Tim Murphy, who is heading into his 23rd year as head coach, boasting nine Ivy League titles (including four of the last five) and a 156-63 record.

"One of the things I tell recruits all of the time, not only does (Murphy) have a 99-percent graduation rate at a difficult school like Harvard, but he has never recruited a kid to come to Harvard without an Ivy League championship by the time they leave," Johnson said. "It's never been more than four years between a championship, and it's a great mark of consistency."

Johnson serves in a recruiting role which can be a challenge at a school of Harvard's caliber. Even above-average student athletes can fall short of meeting the admission standards.

Even though the pool of potential prospects is very small, with Harvard's reputation it is easy to get a recruit's attention, even though it is a step below the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS).

"The pool of candidates is really small, but the good thing is that it is Harvard," Johnson said. "When you find those guys, pretty much anyone is in play. Even a guy that has offers to Alabama or LSU (Louisiana State University), they are picking up the phone when Harvard calls, and at the least willing to listen to what we have to say."

After serving as a captain of the 2010 Fitchburg State team, Johnson went to head coach Paul McGonagle and inquired about coaching just prior to graduation. He aided in spring coaching activities, but as the fall approached McGonagle's tenure at Fitchburg State came to an end.

Still interested in coaching at the school, Johnson reached out to returning head coach Pat Haverty and Haverty immediately appointed Johnson to a position as a running back's coach.

"I hired Logan to coach with me because I knew what kind of kid he is," Haverty said. "He did a great job. He was the kind of guy that wanted to get better every day and really wanted to coach, and he's gotten better every year and it shows in the opportunities presented to him."

The important part of Haverty's mentorship was that he gave Johnson experience coaching things outside of the realm of the linemen, where Johnson had played his whole career. In his second year under Haverty's watch, Johnson coached the linebackers.

"It was good getting to see both sides of the ball," Johnson said.

After his second year at Fitchburg State, Johnson took a volunteer position at Coastal Carolina University. Despite getting no pay and working virtually full-time hours, the opportunity to work with a powerhouse FCS team was too big to pass up.

Johnson worked with the special teams and the Chanticleers reached a top-five ranking in the country in 2013. Coastal Carolina won the opening round playoff game at home against Bethune-Cookman, and then traveled to the University of Montana, pulling off the biggest win of Johnson's career, 42-35.

With frigid temperatures, staff braced players for the cold, by providing any heating accessories possible, from thermoses full of chicken soup and heating gel.

"The game against Montana was in the middle of December, and was the coldest ever FCS football game, with the wind-chill at negative 20 degrees," he said. "We prepared for the cold better than Montana, and it was the biggest team win I've ever been a part of because literally the team manager had as much to do with that win than the head coach."

The Chanticleers reached the quarterfinals in the playoffs before falling to perennial power North Dakota State.

The final stop for Johnson before heading to Harvard was Bentley University in 2014, where he coached the defensive line.

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